Phaedra Cook is eating her way through Houston and counting down her 100 favorite dishes of 2015. It's a collection of personal favorites that is also indicative of Houston dining. It's a scene where a vast range of dishes coexist: highbrow and lowbrow; local and international; cheap and expensive; modern cuisine and beloved tenets — and everything in between.

Ramen enthusiasts argue long and loudly about their favorite ramens and where to get them. It's all part of the fun. There are so many nuances to discuss that there's plenty to argue about. Tonkotsu, miso or shoyu? Thin noodles or thick? Quality is a huge factor — as is personal preference.

A friend of mine recently swore that the best ramen to get at JINYA was the tonkotsu white with thick noodles. I have to agree on the thick noodles, which are nicely chewy without being too tough, and love the lip-smacking richness of tonkotsu. However, I personally enjoy the hefty dash of garlic oil in the black tonkotsu that makes it seem more complex and mysterious.

It normally comes with the thin noodles, but JINYA is happy to substitute the thick ones by request. There are meaty slices of pork chashu (rolled pork belly) balanced on top of the broth and noodles and kikurage, or wood ear mushrooms, which have a fun, rubbery texture similar to squid.

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As with many types of ramen, JINYA’s tonkotsu black comes with a soft-boiled egg, the exterior browned to a lovely fawn color thanks to its extended marinade in soy. Fried onion, garlic chips and green onion all serve to give their own unique punches of pleasantly pungent smells and textures.

With that said, many of JINYA’s ramen selections are very worthy and the fun is in trying as many as possible. There are hundreds of possible combinations of broths, additions and toppings. There are two JINYA ramen locations in the greater Houston area: one in Webster, and the other in Midtown.

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